4Café Bräunerhof
Opened in 1921, the Café Bräunerhof hides in the heart of Vienna's downtown, flanked by antique dealers. Weekends can draw tourists, but otherwise the atmosphere is almost comically Viennese: well-dressed locals drop in for a melange and buttered kaiser roll (buttersemmel) while perusing the morning papers, which are neatly laid out and include German and French publications. The Bräunerhof is known to be a literary cafe and there's still a palpable intellectual air (it used to be a favorite of the polemical Austrian writer, Thomas Bernhard). Observing a long-held Viennese tradition, waiters, who are donning suits and bow ties, are not exactly friendly with newcomers.
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